CVE-2024-51240
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows an authenticated admin user in OpenWRT Luci LTS to escalate privileges to root via the JSON-RPC-API exposed by the luci-mod-rpc package. It affects OpenWRT Luci LTS installations with the vulnerable package enabled. Attackers with admin access can gain full root control of the system.
💻 Affected Systems
- OpenWRT Luci LTS
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise where an attacker with admin credentials gains root access, enabling installation of persistent backdoors, data theft, network pivoting, and full device control.
Likely Case
Privileged insider or compromised admin account escalates to root, modifying system configurations, intercepting traffic, or deploying malware on the router/embedded device.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if admin accounts are properly secured with strong credentials, network segmentation isolates management interfaces, and least privilege principles are enforced.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires admin credentials but is straightforward once authenticated. Public GitHub repository contains research details.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not specified
Vendor Advisory: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Monitor OpenWRT security advisories for patch release. 2. Apply patch when available through package manager. 3. Verify luci-mod-rpc package is updated.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable luci-mod-rpc package
linuxRemove or disable the vulnerable JSON-RPC-API interface to prevent exploitation.
opkg remove luci-mod-rpc
Restrict admin access
allLimit admin account access to trusted users only and implement strong authentication.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable or uninstall luci-mod-rpc package immediately.
- Implement network segmentation to isolate management interfaces from untrusted networks.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if luci-mod-rpc package is installed: opkg list-installed | grep luci-mod-rpcCheck Version:
opkg list-installed | grep luci-mod-rpcVerify Fix Applied:
After patch, verify package version is updated and test admin-to-root escalation is no longer possible.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual admin login attempts followed by privilege escalation activities
- JSON-RPC API calls with privilege escalation patterns
Network Indicators:
- Suspicious traffic to Luci JSON-RPC API endpoints from admin accounts
SIEM Query:
source="openwrt" AND (event="admin_login" OR event="rpc_call") AND action="privilege_escalation"